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Waking up is hard to do, but it's easier with NPR's Morning Edition. Hosts Renée Montagne and Steve Inskeep present the day's stories and news to radio listeners on the go. While they are out traveling, David Greene can be heard as regular substitute host. Matt McCleskey and the WAMU news team bring the latest news from the Washington Metro area. Jerry Edwards keeps an eye on the daily commute. Morning Edition provides news in context, airs thoughtful ideas and commentary, and reviews important new music, books, and events in the arts. All with voices and sounds that invite listeners to experience the stories.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

In today's dollars, the bill for U.S. immigration enforcement since 1986 comes to $219 billion — roughly the cost of the space shuttle program. About 80,000 government workers depend on immigration enforcement. Despite a drop in illegal immigration, the border industrial complex is here to stay.

Germany's high court on Wednesday rejected calls to block Europe's permanent bailout fund. The Netherlands is also having elections, and unhappiness over the bailout is likely to be a factor in the results. Also, the European Commission released its plan for a banking union. It's quite a big undertaking to try to bring all of Europe's financial institutions under a single regulatory umbrella.

Unions in Wisconsin challenged Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union policies and lost, while teachers successfully challenged similar laws in Ohio. But many of these policies are supported by President Obama, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other Democrats. And the American Federation of Teachers has been walking a fine line between advocating for reform and protecting traditional union positions.

After giving a speech that many consider one of the highlights of last week's Democratic convention, former President Bill Clinton hit the campaign trail Tuesday for President Obama, appearing at a university in Miami.

The IRS has awarded a former banker $104 million for telling the U.S. government how Swiss banking giant UBS helped rich Americans evade taxes. The award given to Bradley Birkenfeld is believed to be the largest ever for an individual whistle-blower.

Four years ago this week, the Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. The sudden collapse sent shock waves around the world and brought on the worst of the financial crisis. But for Lehman Brothers, the story doesn't end there.

Forty-five years ago, artist Andy Warhol created an album cover for The Velvet Underground, featuring a stylized black and yellow banana. Earlier this year, band members sued, claiming the Andy Warhol foundation had unlawfully licensed the banana for use on iPhone and iPad accessories. A U.S. District Court dismissed part of the band's claim over copyright infringement.

Ice covering the Arctic Ocean is at its lowest levels in decades, or quite possibly centuries. The new low has smashed the previous record, set in 2007. Scientists blame a long-term warming trend in the Arctic, and say that the change could alter weather patterns throughout North America and Europe.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney addressed the National Guard Association Convention in Reno, Nev., Tuesday, on the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Romney has come in for criticism after giving an acceptance speech in Tampa last month that did not mention the war in Afghanistan.

President Obama tried to "reset" U.S.-Russia relations, without much success. Republican nominee Mitt Romney says Russia is America's "No. 1 geopolitical foe." Many Russians think the relationship between the two countries will be rockier over the next four years.

China's vice president hasn't been seen for a week and a half. That's fueling speculation among some people in China about Xi Jinping and his health and whereabouts. He has canceled meetings with Hillary Clinton and Denmark's prime minister. For more, Renee Montagne speaks with Rob Gifford, the China editor at The Economist magazine.

Average health care premiums rose by a mere 4 percent this year, according to a new survey. That's the smallest increment in more than a decade. But experts aren't sure whether that slowdown will last.

When Ryan Hunter Harris' fishing boat overturned in high waves off the coast of Alaska, his crewmate got back to shore in a survival suit. Harris wasn't so lucky. He spent the next 26 hours adrift in a plastic bin used to store fish. Eventually another fishing crew picked him up.

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